A Mammoth Book of Stories by Giovanni Boccaccio

            The Decameron is a mammoth book of stories, written by Giovanni Boccaccio, told from the point of view of ten Florentines attempting to escape the Black Death which their hometown is afflicted by.  While the stories cover a very wide range of topics, one central theme to many of the stories is the relationship of man to woman.  Many of the stories tell a tale of a woman who is subordinate to a man, but in reality, in obvious fashion to the storyteller and listener, the woman is actually in control of the situation in question.  These stories give some insight into gender roles and the relationship between males and females throughout history, as many of the stories told in the Decameron have been adopted from popular tales from various cultures and times.  Ultimately, the Decameron serves not only to entertain, but to give insight into the historically-interesting interactions between man and woman.

            The stories of the Decameron demonstrate the relationship between man and woman in various different ways and methods.  As mentioned earlier, many of these stories revolve around a woman who is subordinate towards a male or several males, but it is later revealed that her decisions have great effect on the fate of all.

            In Filomena’s tale, the third told on the third day, a “gentlewoman richly endowed (none more so) by nature with physical charms, as also with gracious manners, high spirit and fine discernment” plays a trick on a bumbling friar in order to attain the man she lusts for.  She manages to do so with absolutely no risk of being found out, and no forward advancements of her own doing.  Instead, after recognizing that the man, known as the “gallant,” is the man of her dreams, she notices that he often takes company with a friar, who is revealed to be less than intelligent.  Her ingenious plan is to complain of the forward advances made by the gallant on her character (which naturally have not happened), upon which the friar excoriates his gallant friend.  The gallant, having some knowledge of romance and games, understands what the woman is doing, heeds her wishes and plays along.  This turn of events occurs three times, and finally, the friar, having heard the third time the false rumor that the gallant had attempted to break into the woman’s house on the day her husband left for Genoa, reveals this information to the gallant, who promptly visits her house to make their love official.

            The woman in Filomena’s tale is clever, crafty and ingenious, using the stupidity of the friar to her advantage.  In this tale, the reader is introduced to a beautiful and wealthy woman, who is unhappy with the man she is married to.  Many of the Decameron’s tales revolve around this sort of woman.  Ultimately, the woman in Filomena’s tale uses her resourcefulness to take advantage of a man for her own personal entertainment.

            This particular tale does not explicitly show the disadvantages and subordination of women, but it is certainly implied in the roundabout way the woman makes known her lust for the man.  As she cannot publicly or even privately declare her lust, she must make it known through tricks.  Ultimately, she is successful, and it can be implied that she does not regret her actions in this story.

            Another, more direct, example of the subordination of women in the Decameron can be found in the second tale told by Pampinea on the fourth day of the Florentines’ journey.  The story revolves around a wicked friar, who ultimately receives punishment for his trickery and heinous acts by falling victim to the actions of an “empty-headed wife of a great merchant.”  In this story, the friar named Alberto, having met the merchant’s beautiful wife Lisetta, convinces her that her beauty has been adorned on her by the divine power, and that the Angel Gabriel was the one who descended to tell him so.  Furthermore, he convinces her to receive the Angel Gabriel, who would supposedly be arriving to meet her in the guise of the friar.  They fornicate, and promptly, the woman begins to gossip to her friends the visit from the Angel, and how he complimented her profusely.  These rumors would eventually reach the ears of her brothers-in-law, who, being furious, ambush the friar on another one of his visits to Lisetta.  Frightened, he throws himself into a canal, and reaches a house by the shore, whose owner takes him in for the night.  However, the kind man, having went to town on business, hears of the lurid events involving Lisetta and the friar, and eventually tricks him into adorning a ridiculous costume in front of the townspeople.  The friar ultimately goes to prison, where he supposedly dies.

            This story features a harebrained but beautiful woman.  This type of character is utilized in many of the Decameron’s stories; often, the ignorant but gorgeous woman mistakenly initiates the downfall of an evil man, usually connected to the Catholic Church.  In this case, the woman, through her gossip, makes the friar’s trickery known, which initiates the impending retribution on the evil friar.

            While Lisetta is vain and dull, she is by no means portrayed as a villain in this particular tale—instead, that position is meant solely for the friar.   The friar is portrayed as evil and sadistic because of his ironic use of religious figures in his quest to fornicate with a married woman.  Therefore, the friar, in this particular tale, sets himself up for severe punishment by the good-hearted characters involved.